The Greek hoplite and the phalanx formation in which he fought have been the subject of considerable academic debate over the past century. Dr Richard Taylor provides an overview of the current state of play in the hoplite debate in all its aspects, from fighting techniques to the social and economic background of the ‘hoplite revolution’, in a form that is accessible for the general reader and military history enthusiast. But the book goes further: offering a new perspective on the hoplite phalanx by putting it in the context of other military developments in the Mediterranean world in the middle of the first millennium BC. He argues that the Greek phalanx was different in degree but not in kind from other contemporary heavy infantry formations and that the hoplite debate, with its insistence on the unique nature of the hoplite phalanx, has obscured the similarities with other equivalent formations. The result is a fresh take on a perennially popular subject.

The Greek hoplite and the phalanx formation in which he fought have been the subject of considerable academic debate over the past century. Dr Richard Taylor provides an overview of the current state of play in the hoplite debate in all its aspects, from fighting techniques to the social and economic background of the ‘hoplite revolution’, in a form that is accessible for the general reader and military history enthusiast. But the book goes further: offering a new perspective on the hoplite phalanx by putting it in the context of other military developments in the Mediterranean world in the middle of the first millennium BC. He argues that the Greek phalanx was different in degree but not in kind from other contemporary heavy infantry formations and that the hoplite debate, with its insistence on the unique nature of the hoplite phalanx, has obscured the similarities with other equivalent formations. The result is a fresh take on a perennially popular subject.

I syv såkaldte 'bøger', hver indeholdende et antal kapitler, gennemgås 1: Perserkrigene (de græske styrker, våben og taktik - den persiske hær - slaget ved Marathon - Thermopylæ - Artemision - slaget ved Salamis - slaget ved Plataea) 2: Grækerne på højdepunktet (grækernes taktik frem mod Den peloponnesiske Krig - Perikles' taktik - lejesoldater - ændring af den eksisterende taktik i det fjerde århundrede - Xenofons teori - Epaminondas) 3: Makenonerne (det makedonske militærsystem - Alexander og perserriget - slaget ved Granicus-floden - slaget ved Issus - slaget ved Gaugamela - slaget ved Hydaspes-floden - Alexander som hærfører - Alexanders efterfølgere [diadochi] (rivaliserende generaler, familie og venner)) 4: Oldtidens Rom (riddere og falanks - den fleksible falanks - romersk eksercits, overlevelse i felten og disciplin - Pyrrhus - Den første puniske Krig) 5: Den anden puniske Krig (Slaget ved Cannae - Den anden puniske Krigs grundlæggende statetiske problem - optakten til krigen set i bakspejlet - Rom får overtaget - slaget ved Zama-Naraggara og enhedstaktikken - Hannibal og Scipio) 6: Romerne som verdensherrer (romerne og makedonerne - den professionelle hær: kohortetaktikken - centurionerne - Mithriades - romerne og partherne) 7: Cæsar (det helvetiske felttog - Ariovistus - undertvingelsen af belgierne - Vercingetorix - den romerske krigsførelse mod barbarene - borgerkrig i Italine og Spanien - felttoget i Grækenland - slaget ved Pharsalus - borgerkrigen sidste felttog - elefanterne).

Recent research into the military history of ancient Greece has questioned the central role traditionally ascribed to the famous hoplite phalanx by historians and suggests that even as late as the Persian Wars of 480-479 BC, Greek battles consisted essentially of open fighting and duels between individual combatants, in an almost Homeric fashion. In this meticulous study, Adam Schwartz in turn questions the new orthodoxy. Departing from a detailed scrutiny of hoplite equipment and its physical characteristics, the author demonstrates that this equipment must in fact have been developed specifically to meet the needs of warriors fighting in phalanx formations, which, it is shown, can be traced back into the eighth century BC. In this way, the study is not only a reappraisal of the role of the phalanx, but also a significant contribution to the study of Archaic Greek history. Great emphasis is, furthermore, placed upon the illumination of such crucial questions as the duration of the average hoplite battle and the role of the othismos - pushing - in deciding the outcome. In short, this book will quickly claim its place as one of the basic studies of ancient Greek hoplite battle.

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List of members of the society in v. 1.

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